Information quality
When the record and the promise disagree
Keep the approved source beside the working document. Resolve conflicting details before they reach the next step.
October 3, 2026 · 3 min read
- Approved source
- Working document
- Human review
- Hold or approve
If a step is missing, pause and verify before continuing.
A tidy record can still be wrong
A copied quote, an old job note or an outdated product record can carry an error into the next action. Show which source supports the instruction, its version and the person responsible for checking it. A more recent edit is not necessarily an approved change. A clean layout alone does not establish that the information is correct.
Put the source beside the decision
Example system: a job sheet includes a replacement part that is absent from the approved quote. Link both records to the same request and put the affected work item on hold. Compare the agreed scope and ask the responsible person to resolve the difference. If the customer commitment needs to change, obtain the required agreement before updating the work instructions.
Keep the decision traceable
An exception needs a reason, an owner and a next action. Record the conflicting detail, the decision and who approved it. Keep the prior approved version accessible to authorized people under the agreed retention rules. Mark the current approved version clearly and update the linked instructions before resuming. A missing answer is not approval.
Test the handoff, not just the field
Try fictional records with two document versions, a missing approval and a repeated update. Check that the workflow identifies the current approved source, pauses the affected action and creates no duplicate task on retry. If a connection is unavailable, record the local change for review. Reconcile it with the shared record before resuming instead of silently overwriting one version with the other.
Try this: choose one customer commitment. Can another team member find its approved source, current version, decision owner and next action without asking you?
A practical checklist to adapt to your workflow. Examples are fictional.
General educational guidance; not a substitute for a project-specific privacy, security or legal review.